History Channel

The Kennedys have no one left serving on Capitol Hill, but the family may still have enough clout to prevent a miniseries about the dynasty from airing in the United States. In a statement Friday, the History Channel said it had decided not to air "The Kennedys," an eight-part miniseries that stars Greg Kinnear as President Kennedy, Katie Holmes as his wife, Jacqueline, and Barry Pepper as Robert F. Kennedy. "While the film is produced and acted with the highest quality, after viewing the final product in its totality, we have concluded this dramatic interpretation is not a fit for the History brand," the network said in a statement.

Television producer Joel Surnow defies tradition. The creator of the long-running Fox show "24" flouted prime-time conventions with an adrenaline-fueled series that played out in "real time" — and remained on network television for eight seasons. As the producer enters production on his latest TV project, the History Channel miniseries "The Kennedys," Surnow is once again breaking rules. He set up what he's calling a "virtual studio" — an independent production company in the mold of Aaron Spelling Productions and Carsey/Warner — to sell scripted television shows to broadcast and cable networks, without relying on network financing.

One day, in the possibly not so far future, anything that you can do that I can do better, or that I can do that you can do better, or anyone can do better than somebody else, will have been made into a television show. Every profession, any pursuit — all you'll have to do is add "Top" or "Project" to it and you'll have created another reality competition: "Top Undertaker," "Project Unicycle," I could sit here all day making up these things. (Indeed, I believe that people do.) In some ways it's better than actually watching television.

United States history is filled with such heroes as George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Rosa Parks and Bank of America. Well, maybe not, but the colossal bank is doing its best to join the pantheon. After being excoriated for its role in the financial crisis and government bailout, BofA has been looking for ways to show its influence on the U.S. economy in a positive light. The History channel's uplifting "America: The Story of Us," an ambitious 12-part series that recounts 400 years of U.S. history, offered the opportunity.

Cable's channel for women is about to get a makeover. Nancy Dubuc, who transformed the History Channel from a network best known for old World II documentaries into a launch pad for popular reality shows that grab big ratings, has been named president and general manager of Lifetime Television. The 41-year-old executive will keep her job as president of History Channel as well. Both History Channel and Lifetime are owned by A&E Television Networks, a joint venture of Walt Disney Co., Hearst Corp.

Two years ago, HBO took 8 1/2 hours to chronicle the life of John Adams; starting Sunday, History will take us from the colonizing of Jamestown through the millennium in just 12. "America: The Story of Us" is being touted as "the most in-depth television series ever produced by History," which is worrisome considering the hour-to-year ratio, as well as "the broadest educational outreach initiative the network has ever undertaken," which makes a bit...

Past the Strip, north up Las Vegas Boulevard amid a stretch of blocks populated by adult stores, tattoo parlors and the like sits the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop. The store stands out on a recent weekend afternoon, because in front there is a rope line of tourists waiting to get inside. These are the fans of "Pawn Stars," a reality show on the History Channel centered on the store that has become a surprising hit and began filming its third season this month. "The show impacted our lives immediately.

Who would have thought that one of the world's most famous scientists finds time to take in a little television? Whether it's crime dramas or "The Simpsons," Stephen Hawking tunes in. He'd even like to participate in a certain popular dance reality competition. "I'm still waiting for my invitation to 'Dancing With the Stars,' " Hawking joked via a taped message at the Television Critics' Assn. press tour in Pasadena. Until then, he's part of the upcoming Discovery Channel special "Into the Universe With Stephen Hawking."

Emily Blunt has a suggestion for all those sticklers who demand real history in their film biographies. "Watch the History Channel if you want it literal and historically perfect." The star of "The Young Victoria" was reacting to some of the quibbling of British critics about the film, which is enjoying much better reviews in Australia and the United States than it did when it opened in Queen Victoria's native land. Gripes about this invention (the queen's husband taking a bullet for her)

History channel President Nancy Dubuc knows what she's up against running a cable television network devoted to events from long ago in an age of real-time tweets and quirky videos that go viral instantaneously. "History, people automatically say, is black and white and fuddy-duddy," she said matter-of-factly. But not according to Dubuc. Since taking over History three years ago, the young executive has sought to recast the network in Technicolor. To do so, she's undertaken a provocative strategy: severing the cable channel's tether to the past.